In addition to our leisure travel to different parts of the world; I shuttle between two cities for work, and I do it twice a month so I am quite used to being in lines and waiting for my turn. Some tips that I can share for those looking for some:

Getting to the airport/ At the airport

1. Get to the airport on time or even a little before time. You can work from the airport, have a meal at the airport or just relax and spend time with your family. Beat the check-in lines. You would rather be stress free than be on the road stuck in a traffic jam or in long queues at airport security.
2. Travel light! Unless you travel like royalty, chances are that you will have to lug your suitcases through tube stations, bus stations or will have to carry them up a flight of stairs if you have chosen an apartment on the third floor of a building without an elevator! Travelling light is liberating, it is a luxury everyone can afford.
3. Checking in your luggage last so that it comes out first is a myth! There is no certainty!
4. I go through immigration at least 4 times a month. The line that looks shorter and is actually shorter than the one next to it will start moving slower than all the other lines, once you join it! Murphy’s Law addendum!
5. If you see prams or hear babies crying; move to another line! This applies to security check lines (if there are multiple).  We all have gone through the nightmares of crying kids and extra luggage because of kids of our own. Now is the time to escape from those nightmares.

Air Travel

1. For those of you who are afraid of air travel; do research on it. I used to be extremely scared of it and then realized that this is a part of my work and either I quit working or quit being scared. So I researched and I talked to those in the industry and realized it is an incredibly safe mode of travel. Research helps. Below is just one article.
   • https://turbli.com/blog/the-safest-transport-modes-ranked-by-statistics-from-10-years-of-data/
2. Try to take the aisle seat for a long flight. I am a loyal window seat guy so for short hops I always take window.
3. Some aircrafts let you connect your bluetooth headphones to their entertainment system. For those that don’t; there are nifty small devices that you plug into the jack and connect your headphones to the small device.

At your holiday destination

1. The immigration counter advice applies at arrivals as well.
2. Most airports now have counters where they hand out free SIMs or you can buy them. We normally get e-SIMS from Airalo. They offer data heavy packages so go crazy on posting content on your socials!
3. We stick to one hotel booking site. The more you book, the higher the discounts! I am a loyal customer of www.booking.com and have been using this platform for years!
4. There have been a ton of times when we have changed our itineraries. You are going there to have a good time, explore, relax or meet. No point in pushing yourselves into ticking off all the items on your checklist and then crashing by the time you get back to your hotel. Make it a memorable trip for the experiences you had and not because of the experiences you missed out on.